Recent investigations of ergot alkaloids incorporated into plant and/or animal systems

Citation: Klotz JL and Smith DL (2015) Recent investigations of ergot alkaloids incorporated into plant and/or animal systems. Front. Chem. 3:23. Ergot alkaloids have been associated with endophyte-infected grasses (e.g., the Epichloë, Bacon et al., 1977 and Balansia, Porter et al., 1979 spp.) with examples including tall fescue and fescue toxico-sis in the United States (Yates et al., 1985) as well as perennial ryegrass in New Zealand (Rowan and Shaw, 1987) and Ireland (Canty et al., 2014). In addition to animals grazing these grasses being affected by alkaloid toxicities, these regions also provide hay for parts of the world where sufficient feedstuff cannot be grown to support existing livestock. The result has been increased occurrences of ergot alkaloid issues arising in areas not typically associated with pasture-based agriculture. To illustrate, weight loss in camels in the United Arab Emirates consuming an imported ergovaline-containing endophyte-infected perennial ryegrass straw (Alabdouli et al., 2014) along with issues associated with import and feeding of perennial ryegrass straw to Japanese black cattle (Miyazaki et al., 2001) have been documented. In addition to these incidents, grasses can also become infested with Claviceps purpurea where the alkaloids, typically ergotamine and ergocristine, are responsible for the resultant ergotism associated with C. purpurea. The presence of these tox-ins can compound livestock issues with the concomitant consumption of ergovaline produced by the endophyte. In terms of livestock production systems, associated ergot alkaloid toxicities are not limited to pasture or feeding pasture products. While Claviceps Africana is widespread throughout Africa and Asia, the first reported case of toxicity was in Australian sorghum in 1996 (Ryley et al., 1996). The C. Africana-infested sorghum has been demonstrated to be detrimental to steer performance in Australian feedlots that utilize this feedstuff (Blaney et al., 2011) and is an example of how ergot-contaminated feed can distress intensive livestock production. While ergot alkaloid incidences are rare in humans resulting from increased regulation of grain processing (Flieger et al., 1997; EFSA, 2012), reports are still present from occasional pharmacological overdose or accidental exposure (e.g., Stange et al., 1998). More broad aspects of alkaloid-derived problems still persist in intensive and extensive livestock systems. The impact of ergot alkaloids has a global footprint and a large economic influence on agricultural industries. While difficult to place an exact dollar amount on the global cost from ergot alkaloids, several estimates regarding the cost of ergot alkaloids (as fescue toxicosis) have been …